Poplar, 1965: The Secret
by writergal85
Summary: A sweet story about Angela Turner, written right after Series 3. No longer follows canon. Originally posted on my blog. Moving it here.
1. Chapter 1

**_Author's note: A Call the Midwife future fic that I had so much fun writing I don't even care if it sucks. Written right after Series 3, so longer canon at all. Sister E is still alive and Cynthia is still a nurse, not a nun._**

Angela Turner raced down the steps of Poplar Grammar, school bag banging against her knees. It was Tuesday. Next to Saturday, when she and Mum did the shopping together, and Sunday, when Dad wasn't working and would sometimes play tea party or Candyland with her, Tuesday was her favorite day.

Tuesdays were "clinic" day, an important day for her parents, since her dad was a doctor and Mum, his receptionist. For Angela, this meant she got to spend the afternoon at the community centre instead of at home, and that instead of Mum waiting outside the school, Tim would be there to walk her. She searched the crowd for the tall, lanky shadow of her older brother.

"Oi, Angie, over here." She spotted him slouching against the school gates, away from the mothers waiting for children, and ran up to him.

"Tim, guess what? Today we learned a new song for school assembly and Miss said I had such a pretty voice, because I've been practicing with Mum and –"

"All right, all right, you can tell me on the way. C'mon, we've got to hurry or I'll be late for cricket practice again."

She slipped her hand into his and he frowned down at her.

"Mum says you have to hold my hand when we cross the street," she said.

He shrugged, but his grip tightened slightly on her fingers. "I know."

She chattered constantly during the short walk to the community centre – about the school assembly, her best friend Emily's new kitten and the giant stack of books she'd checked out from the library. As usual, Tim just shrugged or grunted in reply, until she mentioned Mum's idea that they all go on a picnic Saturday.

He stopped walking. "This Saturday?"

"Uh-huh. Mum said you don't have cricket – "

"I don't, but I've got – " He ran his hand self-consciously through his shaggy hair. "Something else."

Angela frowned at her brother's sudden odd behavior. "What?"

He shrugged, and she pulled on his hand. "Timmy, what?"

"Don't call me Timmy! I've got a – a date."

She gaped at him. "With a girl?"

"Yes, with a girl!" He scowled and tugged at her hand. "C'mon."

Angela knew something about dating from Emily, who had a much older sister. Apparently it involved getting a boy to take you out for dinner and then afterwards you had to let him kiss you. But she couldn't imagine Tim ever doing _that_. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Are you gonna kiss her?"

Tim's face flushed as pink as her dress. "What? No – I don't know. How you know about kissing? You're six!"

"Emily told me. She said her sister gets kissed _a lot_."

"Well, I'm not gonna kiss her. We're just going to a film anyway." They'd reached the community centre, but he stopped her again before going inside. "Listen, you can't tell Mum, all right? Not yet. She'll just get all mushy and cry or something."

Angela nodded solemnly. Mum did tend to cry at the oddest things, like when Tim taught her how to play 'Chopsticks' on the piano as a surprise. It was supposed to make Mum happy, and she'd hugged her and said she was – so happy and proud – but Angela saw her reach for a tissue afterwards.

"And not Dad either." Tim scowled. "He won't let me do anything until I pass these bloody exams. Promise?"

She nodded again, slower this time. Tim had never asked her to keep a secret before.

But if going on a date would make Mum cry and Dad angry, he probably shouldn't be doing it...should he?

She should tell somebody. Not her parents – that would be breaking her promise – but someone…else.

She knew exactly the person.


	2. Chapter 2

Tim pulled open the doors to the centre and led her inside. It was crowded today, every chair occupied by a pregnant woman or young mother, and the cries and laughter of children bounced off the walls as nurses moved to and fro between patients. She couldn't see Dad, but she spotted Mum in the far corner talking to Sister Julienne. She waved as Tim led her to the kitchen. Both women smiled and waved back.

Tim dropped both their coats and books by the kitchen table. "Do you want some juice?"

"Yes, please," Angela said, scooting into one of the chairs and smoothing down her dress.

Mum walked in, her heels tapping briskly on the lino. "You're late."

"I know, sorry," Tim said. He set the juice glass in front of Angela and grabbed his coat. "I've gotta go. I've got another study session for exams after cricket."

"So you'll miss dinner again, I suppose?" She sighed. "I'll keep something back for you. Don't be too late."

"I won't. Bye Mum." He dashed out of the kitchen.

"I do wish he'd cut his hair," she muttered before turning to her daughter. "So, did you have fun at school today?"

Angela nodded and set down her juice glass. "We sang in a new song in assembly and Miss Howard said I sang beautifully and I said it was because I'd been practicing with you and the choir and she said that maybe one day when I was older I could lead assembly when we sing."

Mum beamed. "That's wonderful. Well done. You'll have to sing it for me after dinner."

She bent down, picked up her daughter's bag and coat and placed them on the opposite chair. "Oh, Tim forgot his science book. If we weren't so busy – but I suppose he'll come back for it."

"Mummy, is Sister Evangelina here?"

"Yes, but she's working right now, so finish your juice and then go play with the other children until we leave." She brushed her daughter's flyaway blonde hair out of her face. "Where's your hair ribbon?"

"It fell out at playtime. Miss put it in my bag." She set down her empty juice glass. "Emily got a kitten. She said I could come over to her house and play with it. Can I?"

"We'll see. I'll talk to her mother at choir tomorrow. Now go on. And no bothering the Sisters."

Angela hopped out of the chair, left the kitchen and walked toward the play area at the other end of the room. But a pair of legs clad in grey suit pants and large black shoes stood in her way, and she looked up. "Hi Dad."

"Angela?" He crouched down so they were face to face. "How long have you been here?"

She rolled her eyes. "Ages."

He grinned at her. "You weren't going to come say hi to me?"

"I didn't see you before. And I just said hi."

He chuckled. "Where's your brother?"

"He left already. Cricket."

"Right, of course." He rose, glanced toward the empty reception table and frowned.

"Mum's in the kitchen."

"Thanks," he said, absently, his mind already elsewhere. He tickled her in the spot under her ear that always made her giggle, and then headed for the kitchen.

Just before she reached the play area, she saw the person she needed to talk to. Sister Evangelina stood by one of the cubicles with Nurse Miller. A line of children, some with their mothers, others with older brothers and sisters, waited nearby.

She looked over at the play area. Three girls were already hogging the playhouse and the toy pram with the dolls. She didn't know them, but they looked older, and she doubted they'd let her in on their game. The only child she knew in the group was Freddy Noakes, and he'd probably want to play cops and robbers again. That's all he ever wanted to play, just because his daddy was a policeman. It was so boring.

She looked over at the reception desk – it was still empty – and then at Sister Evangelina's cubicle again. The line looked shorter.

If she stood in line for an examination, she wasn't exactly "bothering the Sisters," as Mum said. She took her place at the end to wait.


	3. Chapter 3

Once upon a time, Angela had been terrified of Sister Evangelina – "the big one," all the children called her. She was so different from the other nuns. Sister Julienne and Sister Winifred were like Mum – quiet, smiling and ready to listen to whatever she had to say. They always greeted her with a hug, and sometimes cake or a biscuit if she visited Nonnatus at the right hour.

Sister Evangelina was loud; you could always hear her at clinic, no matter how many screaming babies were there. She hardly ever smiled and huffed at Angela's requests for cake. Mum and Tim said she was nice, and Tim even hugged her once at Christmas, but Angela wasn't quite sure she wanted to. She didn't look very huggable.

Then last year, just before Angela started school, Mummy had brought her to the clinic one day to get her "vaccine," as she called it. Dad had explained the night before that he would use a tiny needle to stick medicine into her arm, so she wouldn't get sick like Tim had when he was little. Mum said it would hurt for moment, but if she was a good girl and didn't cry too much, she'd get a sweet afterwards.

So she skipped into the clinic, hugged Sister Julienne and stood in line, ready for her sweet. Some of the other children looked scared, but she was a doctor's daughter. Her dad had taken care of her loads of times when she'd been sick. He'd listened to her heart and lungs with his stethoscope and peered into her ears with a funny little light that she didn't know the name for. Sometimes he gave her medicine that tasted awful, but when she made a face, he'd just make a funnier face back or tickle her, and she'd laugh. She'd also watched him pack his bag in the evenings, opening and filling all those mysterious little compartments with tools and medicines. There was nothing in that bag that could hurt her.

Then she'd seen the Carter twins, sobbing as they left the cubicle with their mum (or was it their aunt? She could never tell.). Meg and Mave were two years older than her, and she'd seen both of them scrap their knees and elbows playing Red Rover more times than she could count. They never cried, not once. If they were sobbing, "vaccines" must be awful. She lost her nerve.

"Mummy," she said quietly, tugging on her mother's hand. "Do I have to?"

Her mum's answering smile was gentle, but firm. "It will only take a minute, dearest, and you won't even notice it. I'll be right there. Come on."

Her mum led her behind the screen, where Nurse Mount and her dad stood waiting, and lifted her up onto the cot.

"All right, Miss Angela Turner," her dad said, reading off the card in his hand and then grinning at her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the nurse holding the needle. It was even bigger than she'd imagined. No wonder Meg and Mave had cried. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Her dad frowned. "You know I have a daughter by that name, but she's always happy to see me."

Angela crossed her arms tighter and her bottom lip began to tremble. But she couldn't cry. If she cried, Mum might be angry, and she wouldn't get her sweet.

"Angela, sweetheart." Her dad bent down slightly so his face was level with hers. "What's wrong?

"I don't want to!" she cried and burst into tears.

"Shelagh?"

"She was fine and happy a minute ago, Patrick. I don't know."

"The Carter twins probably set her off," Nurse Mount said.

"The Carter twins set everyone off," her dad grumbled.

Mum sat on the cot next to her. "Angie, remember what we talked about at breakfast? How it will only hurt a moment?" She rubbed her daughter's crossed arms up and down, encouraging her to relax. "Just look at me, and give Daddy your arm. Look at me."

Angela sniffled and glanced up at her mother. Her blue eyes were gentle behind her glasses. She unfolded her arms.

"Why don't you tell Nurse Mount what Tim taught you last night?"

Angela looked warily at the nurse standing by the cot. She couldn't see the needle anymore. Maybe she'd gotten rid of it.

"The – the alphabet. Backwards."

The nurse raised her eyebrows. "Backwards? I'd love to hear that."

Mum nodded. "Go on."

She began slowly, her voice trembling. "Z. Y. X—X. W. V – " She felt her dad gently take her arm. "and – and U. T and S –"

The nurse's hand moved from behind her skirt. She saw the needle, saw Dad reach for it –

"No!" She pulled her arm away and shrunk back against her mother.

"Angela!" Her dad sighed the way he always did when he was cross.

"Do you want me to get another nurse to help?"

"No need." Sister Evangelina appeared from behind the screen. "Now then missus, what seems to be the problem here?"

Angela stopped crying and gaped at the nun towering over her. She was even larger up close.

"Were you giving the doctor and your mother cheek?"

She shook her head frantically.

"Really? Because it sounded to me like you were, and I've got a good mind to tell Sister Julienne, and then give you the shot myself."

Angela's eyes grew wide as saucers. Getting the needle from Sister Evangelina would be ten times worse, and if she told Sister Julienne –

"There, all done," she heard her dad say, and looked down at her arm. The nurse was smoothing a plaster over a place near her shoulder that ached slightly.

But she hadn't even seen the needle or felt it go in. She looked at her mum, then at Sister Evangelina, confused. Had she done it?

The nun gave her a barley sugar twist. "Scare the living daylights out of 'em, they don't make a peep. Works every time."

Since then, Angela had been cautiously curious about Sister Evangelina. She'd learned not to ask her for cake, but other questions – what the nuns prayed for, why Dad drove a car instead of riding a bicycle like all the midwives, why Mum had cried when she'd asked her for a little sister – she always answered directly, if a little gruffly.

She'd also seen her scold Tim when he'd say something smart to Dad or Mum, and he always looked sore and apologized afterwards, so she sensed the nun might just be the person to tell her secret to.

Now, Sister Evangelina spotted her and glared. "Angela Turner, this isn't the line for sweets. You've already had your vaccination and as I recall, you weren't too fond of the needle."

She shrank back slightly. She didn't want to go through that again. "I've got a secret," she whispered, so the Sister and Nurse Miller had to bend down to hear her. "About Timmy."

The Sister raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Good or bad?"

"Um…."

"Bad then." She crossed her arms. "Out with it."

Angela shuffled from one foot to the other, then blurted out: "He's going on a date. With a girl."

The Sister snorted and Nurse Miller giggled. What was so funny? "I should hope it's with a girl," the nun said. "Why is that a secret?"

"Because he said I wasn't supposed to tell Mum or Dad. He said they wouldn't like it."

Sister Evangelina put her hands on her hips. "Were you not supposed to tell me?"

"He didn't say that."

The Sister examined her with hard, narrowed eyes. Maybe she shouldn't have told her.

Then the nun's wide face broke into grin, and she laughed. "You little stinker."

"There's our Romeo now," Nurse Miller said.

Angela turned and saw her brother dash through the clinic toward the kitchen, presumably looking for his science book.

"Give her a jelly baby," Sister Evangelina said. "I've got to speak to Master Turner."


	4. Chapter 4

Angela was sitting on the cot, sucking on her second jelly baby, when Mum found her.

"Angela, I told you not to bother the Sisters."

"She's fine, Shelagh. We were done anyway," Nurse Miller said as she packed away supplies in the cubicle.

Mum lifted her off the cot. "C'mon, we should get home. Otherwise Dad and Tim won't get their dinner till midnight."

On the way out of the hall, they passed Sister Evangelina and Tim. The nun's face was very stern, and while her voice was too low for them to hear, whatever she said must have been awful, because Tim looked like he wanted to sink into floor.

"What's Tim still doing here?" Mum asked. "And what's the Sister talking to him about?"

Angela shrugged, her mouth full of candy. If this was what giving away a secret got her, she was never going to keep one again.

Mum sighed. "Well, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Nothing stays a secret in Poplar very long."


End file.
